Gethsemane
by safelysound
Summary: [AU] What else is there when you already have everything you need? Sometimes, divine intervention is needed to show you that you're missing the most important thing of all: love.
1. Boss, Bozo, and Rick

(A/N: Here we go, another story. Again another AU Escaflowne. I don't own any of it, CLEARLY.)

It was after 8:00 as Hitomi drove home from her job in her new work car. She worked as a secretary for the big boss in one of the top companies in the country. At twenty-four, it was quite an accomplishment for someone to own their own house, their own car, and have such a high paying job. But Hitomi did.

She parked and walked up the brick path to her front door. "Rick? Honey, you home?" she called, as she entered the house. "Rick!" Bozo, her small, white poodle, skidded into the room on her hardwood floor, barking. "Hey darling, you hungry?" She walked into the kitchen, still looking for Rick.

After dumping some food into a bowl for her dog, Hitomi turned to the table to see a note.

_Hitomi,_

_We've talked about this for a while and I guess I just thought it would be for the best if I finally left. I've taken all my things, so I won't be back for anything. I'm sorry to leave so abruptly but I think we're both moving in different directions. You're doing so well with your work, and the band is finally getting close to being signed. Good luck Hitomi, you deserve it._

_- Rick_

That was it.

Hitomi reached up to brush one tear off her cheek. Leaning against the cupboards and sliding down to the floor, she cradled her face in her hands. She couldn't have realistically thought that her relationship with Rick would last much longer; they'd been fighting viciously for the past several weeks about her spending too much time at work, and him doing nothing but playing his guitar all day.

She sat on the floor for a while, then finally pulled herself up, wiped her nose childishly on her expensive work jacket, and headed towards the stairs. Bozo bounded up the stairs behind her, wagging his tail and yipping. Still sniffling, she pulled on silk pyjamas and climbed into bed beside her small dog.

As Hitomi lie in her bed, a dark shadow lurked outside her window. It watched her wipe her eyes yet again. Shuffling sideways, it looked upwards to the sky and said, "You better be right about this one, Boss." A burst of air pushed the intruder's hair into his face suddenly. "Alright, alright, I believe You," he muttered. As he kept talking to himself, the sky got darker and threatened rain. "I just wish You'd tell me what needed to be done," he continued. "It would make my job a hell of a -" a flash of lightning shot across the sky "- FINE! A lot easier then." And he continued to grumble as he tried to get a better view of the now sleeping woman.

"So Hitomi," he whispered now, to the woman inside, "what are you missing in your life?"

Another draught of wind blew towards the stranger, and some tree branches that almost touched Hitomi's window slapped his bare back. A second gust and a bigger branch moved and hit him harder. He threw out his arms and waved them in an attempt to catch his balance.

Hitomi sat straight up a second later as a loud thud came from outside her window. Bozo rocketed off the bed, barking and running towards the back door of the house. Sliding out of her bed, Hitomi crept down the stairs after her spazz dog. She stopped briefly to grab a butcher knife from the kitchen. As she squeezed it in between her fingers, it reassured her that whoever was outside wouldn't get away unharmed.

"Who's there!" she cried as she threw open her back door and took half a step out. A white blur shot past her feet as her dog went running and shrieking into the bushes under her window. There were some grunts and growls before Bozo came sprinting back to her, carrying something in his mouth. Hitomi bent down, keeping half an eye on the bush, and removed several long, white feathers from the wet mouth of the dog.

"Hello?" she said stupidly. "Is someone there? Are you hurt?"

"Arrrunnnnhggh..." A noise came from the bushes before a figure stood up. It took several steps forward until Hitomi could see it was a young man, maybe two years her senior, with black hair, dark eyes, and he was, as far as she could tell, naked from the waist up. "Stupid dog, I ought to tell Him not to let you in. Oh no, I bet you'd regret ripping out my feathers then, wouldn't you?" he mumbled angrily, pulling sticks from his hair.

Turning his gaze to the gaping woman in front of him, he studied her. She looked happy enough. Tall-ish, slim, nice house, pretty. What was wrong with this broad? Yawning, he said quickly, "I'm Van, your new protector, saviour, friend, and basically your genie. I'm here to fix your life." His tone sounded bored.

Hitomi's head was cocked slightly to one side. "Are you drunk?" she questioned him.

"I wish!" he said under his breath. Then, "No, I was sent here to help you out. I know all about you. You're Hitomi Kanzaki, age twenty-four and three eighths, your birthday is August eleventh, your favorite colour is green, you have one brother who is younger than you, a nice company car, a nice job, a nice house, but a pretty stupid dog. You also just broke up with Rick, your boyfriend of almost eleven months, you finished high school a year early due to good grades, you don't smoke or do drugs, and you only drink in moderation. Is all that right?"

Green eyes stared widely at him from several feet away. After a moment, they closed and Hitomi keeled over backwards. "Jesu - I mean, oh darn!" Van said, as he moved forward, dodging Bozo. He kneeled beside the unconscious girl and waved his hands over her feebly. "Aw, c'mon Boss, gimme a break, will you?" he asked, skyward.

Leaning forwards, he put his weight onto his hand. With a cry, he brought it back up, seeing a small cut on it from the knife Hitomi had brought with her. A small drop of blood rolled down his hand before the cut closed itself up and left only a small pink line.

"Hitooooomi! Please wake up! I'm sorry I said your dog was stupid. I only said that 'cause he ripped out my feathers. You'd be surprised how much that hurt! A lot more than hair, I can tell you." He kept talking until Hitomi's eyes slid open. "Hey, that's my girl," he said, helping her into a sitting position.

"Who are you? Am I dreaming?" were the first things from her mouth.

"Naw," Van said, "but you might wish you were in a couple seconds." The muscles in his back rippled as he lifted large wings up from behind him. Bozo whined and ran into the house as Hitomi's eyes followed the white feathers out six feet in either direction. She took another look at his face, and then passed out again.

A cry came from Van. "God, why do you always give me the hard jobs?"

(A/N: So, Review guys. Theme song for this fic: Angels by Jessica Simpson or Robbie Williams.)

**Sit and wait  
Does an angel contemplate my fate?  
And do they know  
The places where we go  
When we're grey and old?  
'Cause I have been told  
That salvation lets their wings unfold  
So when I'm lying in my bed  
Thoughts running through my head  
And I feel the love is dead  
I'm loving angels instead  
And through it all, he offers me protection  
A lot of love and affection  
Whether I'm right or wrong  
And down the waterfall  
Wherever it may take me  
I know that life won't break me  
When I come to call**

**He won't forsake me  
I'm loving angels instead  
When I'm feeling weak  
And my pain walks down a one way street  
I look above  
And I know I'll always be blessed with love  
And as the feeling grows  
He breathes flesh to my bones  
And when love is dead  
I'm loving angels instead  
And through it all, he offers me protection  
A lot of love and affection  
Whether I'm right or wrong  
And down the waterfall  
Wherever it may take me  
I know that life won't break me  
When I come to call**

**He won't forsake me  
I'm loving angels instead  
And through it all, he offers me protection  
A lot of love and affection  
Whether I'm right or wrong  
And down the waterfall  
Wherever it may take me  
I know that life won't break me  
When I come to call**

**He won't forsake me  
I'm loving angels instead**


	2. The Will and Will Nots

8:47am.

Hitomi opened her eyes farther and saw she was, indeed, not seeing things. She bolted upright in bed, and put one foot on the floor before she saw a figure in her doorway. Van was standing there in his white pants, wings folded majestically behind him, watching her.

"Don't worry about work," he said. "Some guy called to see if you were coming in and I told him you were too sick to even get up. He sounded pretty surprised."

With a noise, Hitomi fell back onto her bed, putting one hand over her eyes. "Okay, when I count to ten and open my eyes, there won't be an angel standing in my door, and I'll realize my alarm is about to go off and I'm going to go to work. One..." Van stared incredulously at the young woman on the huge bed. "Two... Three... Four... Five... Si -"

There was a sound of scuttling feet and a rattling of a chain to warn Hitomi about Van letting out a loud scream. When she opened her eyes, she could see Bozo coming up the stairs behind the angel before he spread his wings, took a small jump, hit his head on the ceiling light, and fluttered back to the floor. Turning, he faced the small dog. It was eying him warily, seeming cautious about the wings.

With a grin, Van lifted his wings up and stretched them as far as they would reach. Looking side to side, Hitomi realized that they touched either wall, jostling some of the feathers. As soon as the poodle saw the wings, he started whining and ran off in the other direction.

Van lowered his wings slightly, backing up towards the bed. He was still peering out the door after the dog, so he didn't notice Hitomi standing and moving carefully up behind him until she brushed a hand carefully on one of his wings.

Jumping, he turned quickly, wings creating a wind and a loud rustling. He peered down at Hitomi, several white feathers falling around them. She caught one in between her fingers and blew on it lightly. "May I?" she asked, gesturing towards the closer of the two wings that were curling around the both of them.

With wide eyes, the dark haired angel nodded, and then watched her hand move forward slowly. To Hitomi it felt just like petting a large bird. After a couple seconds of petting, she smiled uneasily and removed her hand.

"Uh, well, I'm, uh, just gonna... go somewhere," Van said quickly.

"Yeah," Hitomi agreed. "I'm going to shower so, um, there's a TV on the main level if you want to watch that."

- - -

When she came downstairs fifteen minutes later, she was greeted with a victorious yell from her living room. Van's wings were half extended and she brushed one out of the way before ducking underneath it to see the television screen.

A football game. He was cheering because of a football game? All men were the same.

"Do you want something to eat?" Hitomi asked loudly, making the angel turn and look at her.

"Sure," he replied. "You don't happen to have toast, do you? I haven't had that in so long."

"Toast?" she asked.

Van waved his hand. "Yeah. See, angels, we don't eat too often. We're sent to earth once every, hundred years or so - more if you're good - so that's about the only time we eat. Last time I had toast easily had to be two hundred years ago."

Hitomi's mouth dropped open, and she fumbled with the cord of the toaster she was trying to plug in. "How old are you?"

"I'm only about four hundred and fifty."

"_Only_?"

"Yeah," he affirmed, "I'm actually still a rookie up there."

"Oh? And how does one become an angel?" questioned Hitomi, now shoving bread into the toaster.

"Dunno," Van said thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his head. "Not everyone is made one. It's complicated. Things don't work there like they do on earth. There's no hurry, there's no pain, there's nothing to worry about. You get the occasional newcomer that distresses over family members or materialistic items, but they all forget soon." A look of discontent crossed his face. Instead of saying anything else, he curled a wing around and grabbed the end of it, searching through the feathers for something that Hitomi suspected wasn't there.

A second later, two fresh pieces of toast popped and Hitomi hurried them over to her guest. He stared at them for a second before taking a bite. He made a noise of content as Hitomi watched him. She slid down the arm of her couch and landed cross-legged beside Van.

She watched him for almost a minute before he, still eating his toast and not looking at her, asked, "What's so interesting?"

"Your wings," she breathed.

They twitched slightly when she said that. "What about them?" His voice sounded almost impatient.

"They're... absolutely amazing."

Hitomi watched as he moved them, studying the muscles in his bare back that shifted to do this. He seemed to be trying to curl them up so the view of them was minimized.

"They're nothing special," Van replied, a long while later. "Not even beautiful, compared to a lot of the things I see on a daily basis."

"Tell me!" demanded Hitomi like a small child.

"Uhh -"

"No, tell me what it's like in heaven!"

"Well -"

"What happens to us when we die?"

"You see -"

"Were you human once too, Van?"

"I -"

"Wait! I got it!" Hitomi cried and Van sighed with relief. "Why are you _here_?"

"This one I can answer."

"So answer it!"

"I will, if you let me!" he said, frustrated.

"Sorry."

"Stop talking, Hitomi, unless you don't want to hear any of this."

"Okay, done and d -"

"No, I said _stop_ talking, not continue blabbering on."

Hitomi opened her mouth to apologize but Van moved one of his wings so it was in front of her face and causing her to lean backwards to avoid feathers in her mouth.

"Okay, so, why am I here?" Van started. Hitomi ducked under the wing and nodded, eyes wide. "Well, the short and short of it is, I was sent by God." Correctly interpreting her stare he said, "No, not God Himself. He got one of my higher ups to pass the message along. It's actually all His fault that you even know I'm here. Angels aren't supposed to be seen; it's just in our nature to stay out of sight. Otherwise people will idolize us or follow us, asking for favours constantly. It's quite annoying. Now, I'm not breaking any rules by sitting here and talking to you, it's just not recommended for us. But as I was saying, God is the only one who actually decides all the Will and Will Nots.

"So I was lurking innocently outside your window last night, studying you, watching you, and mainly just stalking you, which was my job. Well, He didn't seem to like that so He brought several things about that basically brought us to where we are now. This brings us to _why_ I was sent as your divine stalker. It's as simple as this: you're missing something in your life. I'm not talking something small, either. This is some big shit -" Van looked upwards, cringing, almost as if expecting to be struck down then and there "- that I'm talking about. So my job is to figure out what that is, solve it, and presto-chango, you have your very own miracle!"

Hitomi was fingering a necklace she had and Van watched as the red crystal slid easily along its silver chain and through her fingers.

"Any ideas?" he asked, after a time. "About what you're missing, I mean."

"No," she said, looking thoughtful. "Have I always been missing this or is it just something recent?"

Van shrugged, causing his wings to rustle lightly against the woman's back. She shivered, unconsciously leaning closer to the wing.

"Your guess is as good as mine at this point," the angel said, brushing some of his dark hair from his face. "I'm just hoping it's something we can actually fix. Not like the last time I was sent here."

Hitomi was about to ask, when her back door was suddenly pushed open by a gale-force wind. Some feathers detached themselves from Van's wings and one blew until it landed, upright, in Hitomi's hair.

The wind stopped as suddenly as it had started and both were left gaping at each other.

"That's God for ya," Van said, smiling, after a while. "Good sense of humour, that one."

(A/N: Well, done. Nothing much to say. Just if you're waiting on any of my other stories And if you're not, I suggest you go read them... Yes this is shameless plugging, what's your point? it will probably be a while for an update! School's starting soon, and I'm working on a fic that I would like to finish before posting any of it. Review and I'll hopefully see you reasonably soon!)


	3. Dryden the Creepo

"So, Hitomi, who's the new boyfriend?"

It was a Monday morning, Van had been staying with her for five days, and she had finally gotten up enough courage to let him stay home alone with Bozo. She turned to see Dryden, a tall man with thick-framed glasses, dark wavy hair, and intentions of dating her, standing and looking down into her face.

"Helloooo? Earth to Hitoooomi! I said, 'Who's the new boyfriend?'" He waved a hand in front of her face.

"Knock it off, Dryden," she replied, brushing his hand away and turning back to the photocopier. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Rick and I broke up last week, there's no one else. I haven't even thought of there being someone else." Hitomi stressed this, hoping he would take a hint.

"Well, I'm glad you're finally rid of Rick," Dryden said. "That guy was a creep. But that's not what I'm talking about. When I called you on Friday to see if you would be coming into work, some man answered the phone. He said you were sick. C'mon Hitomi, you're _never_ sick. You can tell me what you were really doing." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

Hitomi wrinkled her nose and roughly shoved some papers into the machine. "That wasn't my boyfriend! That was, uh, my brother. Yup. And I was sick."

After surveying Hitomi's face for a while, Dryden switched to other tactics. "So if you don't have a boyfriend... There's a staff banquet this Friday. You know Mr MacDanel has made it mandatory to attend. I was wondering if you would want to come with -"

"Actually," Hitomi cut him off, "I lied. That _was_ my boyfriend. Uh, his name is, er, Vick. Turns out that's why Rick and I broke it off." She cringed. _Vick_? Couldn't she think of anything more original?

"Oh. I'm sure I'll be seeing him at the banquet then, hey?"

"Actually, no. Vick isn't one for going out to eat. He'll just stay in and have some toast, I expect." She laughed nervously. "Likes his toast, that one."

"But Mr MacDanel said -"

Hitomi laughed forcedly again as the copying machine started to make loud protesting noises. "I _know_ what he said, Dryden. But he did not say we had to bring guests now, did he?"

"What a wonderful idea, Miss Kanzaki!" a loud voice boomed behind her.

Hitomi spun around quickly. "O-oh. Mr. MacDanel. Imagine seeing you here. Heh... At the photocopier and all." She could've sworn she saw devil horns curling up from Dryden's bronzed hair.

"I was just telling Hitomi how _thrilled_ you would be if she brought a guest to the banquet, Mr MacDanel."

Hitomi opened her mouth to protest. "Of course!" yelled their boss. "I would love to meet the man in our best secretary's life. Now, Dryden, I came to talk to you about this new project you're working on. Walk with me."

As the two men left the copying cubicle, Dryden winked in Hitomi's direction. She smiled dryly back at him and turned to the now insanely freaking out machine. Kicking it several times, she then grabbed her toe in its black, Italian, brand name shoe, and started hopping around.

"Son of a bi- Hi!" she called as someone looked around the corner at her. Grabbing her sheets, she hurried off to her office, trying to think of a way to pull off the banquet she was now forced to attend with her own guardian angel.

"Okay, so let me get this straight: I have to meet your boss and this Dryden creepo man, convince them I'm your new boyfriend, and I get _what_ out of this?" Van was sitting on Hitomi's couch as she cut up beets for their supper.

Hitomi paused from her incessant cutting for a moment and looked out the window at Bozo, who was chasing a butterfly and barking madly. Sighing, the turned to the topless, winged man in front of her. "Basically, yes. And I don't suppose there's any way to hide your wings, is there? You're an angel; don't you heal on the spot? So can't I just, like, cut them off?" She brandished her red-stained knife.

"Uh, no," Van said. "That's the one thing you shouldn't ever do. Then I'd go -" he stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes "- dead. But actually, I can be rid of them for a while. Not the most pleasant feeling in the world, I assure you, but it is doable."

"Okay, so, with that out of the way, we just need to make up a plausible story for Vick, find him something to wear, and we're set."

"Um, Hitomi?"

"Yes?"

"_Vick_?"

"Yeah, I know. Bad choice of name on my part."

Van scoffed. "No kidding. Can't I just go by my actual name? I'm sure Drydel-er-whatever his name is, won't remember you didn't say Van."

"Dryden," she told him. "And he probably will. This guy is a major creep. Not even the kind of creep that just won't quit asking you out. He knows stuff about my personal life that I've never told anyone at the office."

"Oh. Big creep, eh?"

"Yes, _huge_ creep."

"Can I give him a show?" Van asked, starting to smile.

Hitomi looked at her guest. "Um, no. I think it's best if we both kept a low profile at this thing."

Van was about to protest, when there was a thud from her window. They both turned to see Bozo staggering away, swaying on his feet. The butterfly he had been chasing fluttered innocently away.

"I honestly don't think I've ever seen a dog that stupid before," Van said.

Hitomi sighed. "Yeah, I'll give you that."

It was Friday at 6:30 and Hitomi was leaning against her closed bathroom door. She was dressed in a black dress, tapping her matching heels impatiently on the ground.

"Van! Hurry it up, we'll be late!"

Twenty minutes earlier, the angel had locked himself in the bathroom, insisting he didn't want Hitomi to watch him dispose of his wings for the night. Suddenly her door opened and she stumbled a bit. Two hands on her shoulders steadied her. Turning, she saw a wingless Van exiting the room wearing black dress pants and a white button-up shirt.

"Here," she said, handing him his jacket. He put it on, grimacing a bit. Hitomi hurried up to him and started to put a bright blue tie around his neck.

She had just finished knotting it for him and pulling it tight when a grunt of discomfort was emitted from his mouth. Looking up, she noticed how close she was to his face she was. He was wrinkling his nose and he squinted down at her.

"Does it hurt?" Hitomi asked him, still fiddling slowly with his tie.

"Not when I don't think about it," he said quietly, looking down at her. Then he smiled. "Get used to being this close to me all night, I'm giving creepo man a show he won't forget."

Hitomi sighed. "I told you, Van, no groping."

He laughed. "I swear, I don't grope. It'll be more like a gentle... _rubbing_."

"Don't be a perv."

"Fine. I'll keep Dryden off of you and you'll make me breakfast for the next week."

"I make breakfast for you anyways."

"True, but -"

"No buts," Hitomi interrupted. "We have to go or we'll be late."

Fifteen minutes later, Van and Hitomi walked into a huge room with mirrors on one wall, a hardwood floor, people everywhere, and a bandstand in the corner. Hitomi spotted Dryden midway through the room. He smiled at her and she grinned back, while whispering, "That's creepo man, there, Van," to her date.

He smiled, looking quite dashing with his dark suit and hair, took her hand softly, and muttered, "I'll only grope subtly, I promise."

Hitomi started to laugh quietly as Dryden made his way over to the two of them. When he got closer, she introduced Van. "Dryden! This is -"

"Van," the angel quickly interjected. "I'm Van Fanel. Nice to meet you." He reached out with his free hand to shake the other man's hand. Dryden replied appropriately and behind his glasses, his eyes quickly made their way down to the intertwined fingers of the couple in front of him. Hitomi smiled at him broadly then dragged Van off in another direction to a table.

"I thought we decided on Vick," she said through gritted teeth.

"Change of plans," Van mumbled. "Hi," he said to a young blonde woman who was eying him up. "Lovely night for a banquet, isn't it?"

Hitomi continued to drag her angel along until they got to a corner table. They seated themselves there. Five minutes later, when Mr MacDanel insisted everyone was seated, they were joined by Dryden, the blonde woman, Millerna, and a couple of Hitomi's friends, Allen and Merle. The seven of them smiled somewhat awkwardly at each other across the table.

Throughout the meal, Van would lean over to supposedly whisper something intimate in Hitomi's ear. Each time he would say something completely unromantic, and she had a hard time trying to act as if the things he was saying excited her. After a long meal, Mr MacDanel stood at his table, made a few toasts, and insisted everyone danced.

Hitomi saw Dryden start to move out of his seat to her and Van's side of the table, so she lightly grasped Van's face and turned him to look at her. "Dance, sweetheart?" she asked. He smiled, leaned in and kissed her temple, grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor.

As he entwined his arms around her waist he said, "I deserve an award for my performance tonight, my dear."

Hitomi agreed with him. As she was looking over his shoulder, she saw Dryden watching her and Van dance. She looked up at Van's face. He was concentrated somewhere off in the distance. Turning them so Dryden could see, Hitomi whispered, "Van, kiss me."

His attention snapped back to the woman in his arms. He looked quizzically down at her before she stretched herself lightly up on her toes to kiss him lightly for a second. When she pulled herself away from his mouth, he took a breath and opened his eyes. After looking at her for a couple of moments, he kissed her, slightly longer and more passionately.

Hitomi swore that when she opened her eyes, they were sparkling. She had kissed plenty of men before and it had often left her breathless with the pleasant feeling it gave her. But no man compared to kissing an angel. It was like he worked some kind of magic with her mouth when he kissed her.

"It's been hundreds of years since I last did that," Van whispered as Hitomi propped her chin on his shoulder and they continued to dance. "I forgot it felt like that."

"Like what?" Hitomi asked.

"Like... being home."

"You mean heaven?"

Van said nothing, he just rested his lips on Hitomi's forehead and continued to sway to the music.

"Welcome home, Van," she said quietly to him.

(A/N: Yup. I love V/H fluff. Mostly cuz Van is just too sexy for words. Therefore, I won't write a long author's note.)


	4. Take it All Away

(A/N: If you are going to listen to music while reading this, make the song _Angel_ by _Sarah McLaughlin_. **Warning for this chapter**: slightly graphic, includes darker adult themes.)

When Hitomi and Van finally walked into her house past midnight, they were laughing and talking.

"Did you see Dryden's face when you put your hand an inch up my skirt? He looked like he was going to die!" Hitomi gasped for air, reliving the experience from earlier that night.

"Did I do a good enough job for you?" Van asked, smirking, already knowing the answer.

Hitomi smiled at him. "You're a lifesaver."

As she headed up the stairs to change into pyjamas, Van wandered through the house, depositing his jacket on the back of a chair and loosening his tie and shirt. He went out the back door and quickly scaled the tree outside of Hitomi's window. When she came outside five minutes later looking for him, she found him staring at the moon with a look of utmost calm on his face.

"Van?" she called him. "What's going on? Come down from there, you'll hurt yourself."

As he jumped down from his branch, he laughed. "Even if I fell and broke my arm, it'd be fixed in about ten seconds, you know that, right?"

"Agh, yes, I know." There was a pause where he looked amused and she looked slightly irritated. Then Hitomi's face became softer and she said, "Are you going to bring your wings out again?"

She looked so hopeful that Van found he couldn't resist. Within seconds he had shed his shirt like another skin and was looking down at Hitomi thoughtfully. "Do you prefer me like this?" he asked. "Would you rather I be some wingless guy that you can feed and parade around to your friends?"

For a second Hitomi looked shocked. Then she looked sad. "Is that what you think? That'd I'd rather you not be an angel?"

Van smiled down at her then and closed his eyes for a moment. Three seconds later, his wings burst forth from his back, dazzling white and enormous. Loose feathers fell around them and Hitomi looked upwards as they twirled down from several feet above their heads.

When she turned back to look past Van's dark hair that covered his face, and into his eyes, she realized that his wings had curled around them and were surrounding them in what was like a small room of feathers.

"Let's go to sleep," she suggested.

Normally, Van slept on either the sofa or hide-a-way bed on the main level of Hitomi's house. But after the night they had spent together, neither of them seemed to find it odd when they both climbed into Hitomi's bed. Hitomi was astounded to see that Van just curled his wings up and slept as if they weren't there. In her hand, she held one long, white feather she had caught when they were falling.

On Monday afternoon, Dryden cornered Hitomi again in copying room. She smiled at him, satisfied that Van had warned him off the previous Friday. He sulkily grimaced back and slouched over to a machine on the opposite side of the room.

A moment later, Merle came in. She wandered over to Hitomi and started gushing over the banquet.

"I had no idea you had a new conquest. Where ever did you find him? He was so nice!" She sighed and her eyes glazed over. "I wish I could find a man like that."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find your guardian angel sometime, Merle," Hitomi insisted, smiling lightly at what she had just said. "It took me a long time, but I finally did it."

Dryden shot an ugly look over his shoulder at the two women. Merle waved at him, then turned back to the conversation at hand. "Wow, he seems pretty bitter over the whole thing, doesn't he? Listen, Hitomi, Allen and I are going to some bar this week to watch a football game. You know, get drunk, and come to work with a killer hangover. Would you and Van be up for that?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I think Van just wants a quiet week at home, just the two of us."

Merle grinned knowingly and elbowed Hitomi lightly. "Oh yeah, I understand. I have to go finish this report for Mr MacDanel though, I'll see you later." She turned and a second later all that was visible was her strawberry blonde hair bobbing as she moved.

Hitomi was still at work when she called her house around 6:00 o'clock that night. She heard the phone be picked up, Bozo barking loudly, some yelling, and then finally Van's voice came onto the line.

"Hello?"

"What did I tell you about not answering the phone?" Hitomi asked him.

"But it was you calli -"

"Never mind, Van. Listen: I'm going to be home late tonight, all right? I won't be home until about 7:00 or 7:30. Make yourself whatever you want to eat, watch some TV or something, just don't get into trouble, okay?"

"Hitomi," his voice said seriously, "do you know who you're talking to? Do I ever make trouble?"

With a laugh, Hitomi said goodbye and hung up the phone. For another hour, she worked mercilessly at her task at hand. Finally somewhat satisfied, she tidied her desk, grabbed her purse and made her way through the hallways to the main exit of the building. Her car, since she was so high up in the company, was parked fairly close to the door.

She had just taken out her keys out of her purse and was trying to shove them into the locks on her car when she felt a hand on her wrist. Spinning quickly, Hitomi saw Dryden silhouetted in the light from the only lamp in the parking lot.

"Oh, Dryden! You scared me!"

He smiled tensely at her. "Hitomi," was all he said. Circling around her, he studied her eerily, like a predator stalking its prey.

Hitomi smiled uneasily at him. "Dryden, you're, uh, making me kind of nervous. Is everything alright?"

He laughed and grasped her wrist tightly with one hand, causing her keys to fall to the ground. Her eyes widened as she saw the look on his face. He looked positively feral, looking down at her like he was to eat her. She swung her purse at him roughly and cried out when it didn't even connect, for he grabbed her arm before it could come close.

"Please, Dryden," she whimpered. "We work together. Please. Don't do this."

He bent her arms backwards until she was kneeling on the ground with her arms above her head, still in his grasp. She pleaded with him, hoping without actual hope that someone would come along and stop what he was about to do.

Dryden fished her keys from the ground and opened the back door of her car. Shoving her roughly inside, he followed, pinning her with his body. Hitomi stared out the window, the one lamp shining through her tears as she experience the thing that no one ever should.

It was past 8:00 when Hitomi finally walked into her house. She dropped her keys on the floor beside her purse, ignoring Van's calls from the kitchen area. Trudging up the stairs, she headed for her bathroom and turned on the shower, scalding hot.

When she had emerged from her long shower, her skin was pink from the heat. She cleared some condensation off of her mirror and stared at herself. There was a faint bruise on her shoulder from Dryden hitting her when she had tried to escape. Her wrists were purple in colour from the furious grip that had encased them for almost an hour.

Wrapping herself in a towel and walking into her room for her pyjamas, Hitomi saw Van already seated on her bed with a tray full of food.

"Hi," he said gently. "Rough day at work?"

Hitomi nodded, smiling so as not to cry.

"There's something wrong, what's going on Hitomi?" Van had stood up and was now circling her, searching her face for clues. "What happened today?"

"Nothing," she whispered, doing exactly what Dryden had told her to do. _Tell no one_.

"If I were human, I might believe you. But I'm not. Hitomi, if anyone can help you, you have to know it will be me."

He stood behind her now. She could feel his gaze on her shoulders. His fingers were light as they touched the bruise that was turning a sickly yellow colour.

"Please tell me," he begged her, coming closer. "I will know, but I prefer I hear it from you."

Hitomi said nothing, just standing there as he put a hand over her bruise. Images started flashing through her mind: her keys lying on the ground, the silhouette of Dryden, being forced into the car, staring at the lamp as Dryden fulfilled his desires.

When Van let go of her a moment later, his breathing was fast and hard. He turned Hitomi to look into her face. "When did this happen? Today?"

She said nothing, but her eyes were broken as they stared at him. He grabbed her lightly and pulled her to him. His wings encased them both in a small space of feathers. When he released her, he brought her clothes and slowly took her towel from her. It only took him minutes to dress her, and when he had, he layed her on her bed and covered her with a comforter.

He crawled into her bed with her and closed her in his arms. Hitomi started to sob as the shock started wearing off and all the feelings from earlier hit her hard. She turned to bury her face in Van's shoulder but he caught her by the chin before she could.

Looking seriously into her face he said, "I swear I will take it all away, Hitomi. I swear." He leaned in and kissed her gently on the mouth and then released her so she could move where she was comfortable. She felt the calming effect of his kiss, and in the arms of her angel, she fell asleep.

(A/N: I love this story. Out of all the ones that I am writing at this time, this one is, by far, my favorite. I'm sorry for my lack of updating in all my other stories; I am actually working on new chapters for them. Please be patient with me and Review to inspire me to keep on truckin'.)


	5. Her Boyfriend

For the next week, Merle and Allen tried to tempt Hitomi out of her newfound silence and solitude by offering her chocolate or trying to take her out. She said nothing to them about why she was so withdrawn though they asked. Van was the only one who she could stand to be around without an awkward silence ensuing.

She had never felt as much comfort at home. Her whole life, the office had been the most familiar place; the place where she could concentrate on what needed to be done. Now, every time she stepped into the more formal atmosphere of her work, she shuddered and cringed, very aware that Dryden worked just across the room.

One morning, she was trying, and failing, to focus on typing out an important memo. Every time she would come back to earth and type out a couple words, something would remind her of what had happened and she'd have to spend several minutes regaining her composure. Her boss walked up to her with someone in tow. Immediately noticing him, Hitomi snapped back to work, typing quickly to make up for her lost time.

Mr MacDanel chuckled loudly at his clearly frazzled secretary. "Miss Kanzaki!" he boomed. "I'd like you to meet your newest co-worker!" Hitomi looked up to see Mr MacDanel pushing a smooth looking, blonde man forward towards her. "If you don't mind, I'd like if you spent the morning getting him acquainted with our up-to-date technology here at the office."

Realizing she really had no choice, Hitomi opened her started, "That's fine, Mr MacDanel, but then the memo will -"

"The memo can be put off until tomorrow! Now go!" He grabbed her arm in a firm hold and pulled her to her feet. "I expect that this tour will take no longer than an hour, Miss Kanzaki! Mr Albatou, get acquainted quickly or our little secretary will be in trouble." And with that, he strutted off in the direction of his office. Hitomi could hear him yelling loudly at her associates and cringed a little.

"Hi," she said, turning to face the blonde man, and sticking out her hand, "I'm Hitomi Kanzaki."

A smile graced the face of the man in front of her and she felt herself swoon a little. Trying to control herself and stay focussed, she barely heard him say in a confident voice, "I'm Dilandau. Albatou, if you didn't catch that."

"Oh... Okay, let's, uh, get you up-to-date with what we've got here at the office."

When Hitomi walked into her house late that night, as usual, Van noticed that she was in a different mood than normal, after spending a day in Dryden's presence. He paced around her as she hurried around the kitchen, trying to make toast for both of them.

"Okay, I give up," Van said, "what's different?"

They both knew he could find out easily if he wanted, just by touching her, but he was putting off doing that.

"Nothing, Van." She brushed him away as she opened the bread bag and moved to put some bread into the toaster. "I just had a better day than normal."

"Well, I can tell that, but why was it so much better?"

"There was just this... man at the office. He's new, and I got to spend most of my day familiarizing him with the machinery at work. We got along well, that's all." Hitomi sighed softly.

"Oh. How well?" Van ignored her as she tried to brush his wing away from the jam jar she had in her hand.

"Quite well. I haven't had such a good day since... Well, since."

Van nodded. "Yeah, I understand."

Hitomi put two pieces of toast on a plate for herself and three on a plate for her angel and wandered to her couch and turned on the TV. Behind her, Van made a face before loudly clanging his cutlery around as he buttered his toast.

"What's the problem, Van?" Hitomi asked finally, after he had almost flung the butter back into the fridge. "Bad day?"

"No," he said sharply, and said nothing to her for the rest of the night, sleeping on the couch for the first time in the past few weeks.

Hitomi opened the drawer of her desk and found a Hershey's Kiss sitting there. She smiled, knowing it was from Dilandau. He'd been leaving her little candies since the day after his orientation. She'd found them in her desk, folders, filing cabinet, and once even in one of her shoes.

From across the room, he was watching her and he smiled when she looked up, chocolate in hand, and waved at him in thanks. He started making his way across the room to her, and her heart jumped a little, as it always did. Once he was almost at her desk, her attention was directed elsewhere.

There was a dark-haired man asking blonde, leggy Millerna something. Hitomi watched as the man flashed a grin at her co-worker. She recognized that smile. Dilandau arrived at her desk with no acknowledgement from her. She was too focussed on watching Van come walking towards her desk, smiling at her cheekily.

"Um, hi, Dilandau," she stammered out, a second later, trying to focus solely on the blonde man. "Um... Do you think you could come back in a while, I'm a little busy right n-"

"Hitomi! Baby! I came to visit you at work!"

She whirled on the angel, who had propped himself on the edge of her desk. "Van, _not now_."

"Hi, I'm Van," he said, completely ignoring her. He stuck out his hand to Dilandau. "I'm her boyfriend."

Hitomi's mouth dropped open at this point. Dilandau raised his eyebrows, but otherwise kept his composure. "Dilandau, co-worker," he replied, shaking hands with Van.

"Charming!" the angel replied loudly. "Now, honey, do you think you could spare a moment, I came to talk to you about something _very important_." Hitomi almost slapped him, for sounding so suggestive.

Dilandau started looking awkward. "Erm, Hitomi, I can come back later and we'll discuss the problem with the newest, uh, thing."

Hitomi just nodded and Van gave a loud, enthusiastic "Good-bye Dilandau, nice meeting you!"

He smiled down at the shorter-haired woman sitting, defeated in her desk. "Hi Hitomi. How's it going?"

"Van," she replied, voice low and threatening, "get out of here now. I don't want to be near you right now."

Taking the hint, Van, having the decency to look ashamed of himself, got up and left her office quietly.

She found him in her backyard, up in the tree, when she arrived home that night. Standing at the base, she yelled up into the leaves. "Get down here right now, Van. We need to talk."

He fluttered down beside her, looking curious. "Yes? What about?"

Hitomi took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "You. I can't believe you would embarrass me like that at my work. I need to command a certain amount of respect there, and whatever amount I had earned of that is now gone because everyone thinks I have a loud, obnoxious boyfriend! Why on earth would you even say you were my boyfriend? You're absolutely out of your mind!"

Van opened his mouth, probably to explain, but Hitomi cut him off.

"You know what? You're the most selfish huma- person, I have ever met! You were sent here - if that wasn't a lie too - to help _me_. Instead, you embarrass and ridicule me in front of other people! If you had a problem with me being happier at work after what happened, you should have brought it up at home, not come to my office to scare off the person that's made work worth going to again!"

She looked at him, trying to read his face. He looked harmless, sheepish, angry, and sorry all at once.

"I'm sick of you looking so innocent, Van. You need to start doing something around here, or leave. It's your choice."

After saying that, Hitomi turned to walk back into the house. She had taken three steps before he was in front of her, looking more menacing than she had seen him since the night she had been raped. He gripped her arms and pushed her back the three steps she had taken.

"And _you_ need to stop talking so much, Hitomi. Don't tell me I haven't done anything around here; you couldn't say that without lying to both of us. And don't, _don't_ ever tell me I'm out of my mind. I have reason for everything I do; better reason to do the smallest things than any human being can even comprehend.

"Did you ever think that I realized what was wrong? That I figured out what was missing? Did it once occur to you that I was ecstatic when you looked happy after coming home from work? Did you not wonder why I would come to your work and _claim_ you?"

Hitomi just stared into the dark brown eyes that were looking down at her in frustration.

"Jesus Christ, Hitomi!" he cried, and she jumped as one of the large branches fell from her tree while Van didn't even bat an eye. "Do you not understand what I'm trying to tell you here!"

She just looked at him until he grabbed her roughly and pressed his mouth to hers. A wind started blowing, whipping her hair around her face and several feathers out of Van's wings. And all the while, she was oblivious, standing near a newly crippled tree in her backyard, kissing her angel.

Van broke the kiss after several moments and, still roughly, he smoothed her hair from her face, holding her head in his hands. "I know what you were missing Hitomi! You were missing the thing that every human - every _being_ needs. But you're not going to be needing it anymore, because I think I've brought it to you."

He kissed her again, his mouth pleading with her to kiss him back. When she finally opened her mouth and let him tentatively deepen the kiss, Hitomi felt Van's back arch and wings jerk suddenly. She lurched and opened her eyes, finding them several feet from the ground.

Clutching him, Hitomi laughed nervously, putting her forehead to his. "Okay, angel, you have my attention. What am I missing?" she asked.

He brought his head up from where he had been feverishly kissing her neck and shoulder. Looking at her seriously, he whispered, "Love," before engaging her in another kiss.

(A/N: Sorry for the lack of updating. Review?)


	6. In This Deep

The next morning, Hitomi woke in her bed. Without opening her eyes, she reached over to touch Van. Her hand groped blindly for a few moments before she opened her eyes. The bed was empty, though still warm. She got up and wrapped herself in a bathrobe as she slowly climbed down her stairs, looking for the man who had just recently left her bed.

Bozo was jumping around the back door, shrieking to be let out. Hitomi nudged him out of the way with her foot and slipped out the door to where she could see Van. He was standing in the middle of her backyard with nothing but his white pants on, head thrown back to face the sky, eyes closed. His hair and feathers were moving slightly, as if being pushed by a breeze that wasn't quite there.

"Van?" Hitomi asked quietly. "Is everything alright?"

He didn't reply and she stood there for a long while just watching him. After a while, Van opened his eyes, blinked to clear them, and looked at her. A forced smile broke upon his face as he moved forward to touch her. Hitomi's smile was just a false as Van's as they stood in her backyard embracing for several moments.

"What happened?" she asked in a whisper. "What was that?"

"I was just having a conversation with You-Know-Who." He nodded his head upwards.

"Oh yes? And?"

"And what?"

"What did He say, Van?"

He sighed and wiped some of his hair off of his face. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Van," Hitomi called after him, as he headed back towards the house. "Van!"

He ignored her and continued until he disappeared through the door. She followed him quickly, wanting to catch him before he had a chance to hide himself somewhere. It was easy to find him, because he was leaving a trail of feathers wherever he went. Hitomi traced him to her en suite bathroom.

Van's back was to her and he was starting a shower. She opened her mouth to ask again, but he whirled on her quicker than she knew he could move. Within instants he was right in her face, invading her head with his scent. His eyes were dark and staring at her in a sad, angry sort of way.

"Don't ask," he begged. "Please. Just let me work it out in my head, first. Please, Hitomi."

Hitomi's hand came up to cup the side of his face gently, and he leaned into the touch. "Alright."

"I love you," he whispered, moving his mouth in close to touch her ear. She shivered and felt his hands start to move down her sides. He looked hesitantly at her, then started to pull her shirt over her head. Hitomi never let her eyes leave his.

When he had her completely undressed, he glanced over her body and gave a small sigh. Van's eyes came back up to look at hers and then she moved her hands to remove him of his unneeded garments, painstakingly slow.

They stood there naked for a few moments, just staring at each other until Van suddenly grabbed Hitomi and pushed her against the wall. She could feel his mouth on hers, pleading with her to let him in, telling her how he felt.

She wrapped her hands through his hair and gripped to him. When he pulled away, he was breathing heavily and Hitomi was astonished to see that he was wingless.

"Where -" she cleared her throat "- where did they go?"

He picked her up, swung the shower curtain aside, and stepped into the steam and water. "I want to touch you," was all he said.

"Van," she choked out, feeling his hands stroking small patterns down her back, "Is this okay? I mean... you're an angel, I'm a human."

"I'm in this deep," he whispered. "And even if I could stop, I wouldn't."

She just stared at him until Van started to kiss her again, this time slowly, and gently. His hands stayed innocently on her hips until she started to press herself into him, at which time he slowly started to explore her body with the tips of his fingers.

Somehow, it had never occurred to Hitomi that angels might be built without the right equipment. Every time she had looked at Van he had screamed _MALE_. And now, as she felt that he was getting more into his touching, she was extremely happy she had been right.

After letting him touch her gently for several minutes, Hitomi reached her arm up to his neck and started to trail her hand down his chest, following the pattern the water was making over the skin.

He gasped and broke away from her again. His eyes looked so trusting, so loving and wonderful, that Hitomi started to cry. A small, crooked smile broke out on his face, as if he understood exactly what was in her head. He moved to hold her, until her crying had quieted. And then Van was in front of her again, kissing her so roughly she couldn't quite find anything, in her head or in her surroundings, to hold onto.

Their breath started coming out faster, in gasps, as their kissing became more frantic.

As Hitomi pressed herself into him, trying to actually be one with him, Van gripped her hips and lifted her feet from the ground. She felt cool tiles against her back and Van's warmth against her front.

She felt him pause.

"Please Van," she begged, wanting him to come closer, as close as any man could be to a woman.

His head was resting in the crook of her neck and he was breathing hard, shaking. Hitomi repeated her request and felt his fingers tighten around her skin.

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. Kissing her gently, she felt him hesitate. Her back arched in anticipation...

And then he set her down.

She promptly slid to the floor, shaking too badly to support herself. Van followed her to the floor, water dripping from his hair onto her breasts as he looked down on her. Their hands were clasped together, holding so tightly it was painful.

"Why... why?" she asked him.

"I'm sorry, Hitomi. I can't... I can't. Oh God," he said, (the water became scalding hot for a split second and he cringed) "I love you. I love you so much, but I can't."

Hitomi's head was spinning. She didn't feel simply as if she had been refused sex. She felt as if she had been refused access to the innermost part of Van's soul. Her hands shook as she held his. Looking up, she saw his eyes closed, his jaw clenched.

"Van?" she asked, quietly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have expected... I mean... it's just that..."

"It's okay, I understand completely," he whispered as he kissed her forehead.

"I - I love you, Van. I know I haven't said it, but I do."

The crooked smile was back on his face. "I know," he said.

He lowered himself onto her and lay on her, his head on her shoulder. She stroked his hair as they lay their until the water became cold.

(A/N: Okay, here's the deal, yo. I used to post this on another account, and this is the first time I've written a chapter in almost a year. So I decided to post this story on hear because, quite frankly, I'm in love with it. Anyways. Review.)


	7. The Time Left

_SCREEECH SCREEECH SCREEECH_

Hitomi's alarm went off and she quite unceremoniously flung herself out of bed. Picking herself up from the floor, she looked at the alarm.

2:12am. What was her alarm doing going off then?

She turned to make sure Van was still asleep in her bed and realized he wasn't even in the room. A quick glance told her he wasn't in the bathroom either. Tentatively, she called his name. There was no reply.

As she wandered out of her room, she saw a sort of flickering coming from her back yard. She ran to the window and then sprinted down the stairs and out the back door, calling her angel's name as she went.

The faint glow was coming from his cupped hands. Again his head was tilted back to the sky, but this time his feathers and hair were being whipped around by what looked like gale-force winds. Finally, his hair stopped rustling and he opened his eyes. Turning to Hitomi, he gave her the weakest smile she had seen from him yet.

"This is the time I have left, Hitomi," he said hoarsely. Opening his hands, they both looked upon a small glowing orb, blindingly white, and incredibly small. "I never told you," he croaked, "that we only have a certain amount of time." His breathing was ragged and frightened sounding. "He's mad, Hitomi. It's forbidden, you and I. I knew it, too. I knew it, but it's what you needed." Van forced a smile. "There's no way. If I stay here till this light's gone, I don't know what will happen. No one's ever done that before."

"Then... then I'll come to you, Van. You said - you said that when people die, some become angels."

He whirled on her. His hands flew out and gripped her arms painfully. "No Hitomi. _Never_. Never say that to me again. You don't know what it's like. You remember nothing - _nothing_ - of your past life for more than five minutes. You become this placated, comatose, drugged thing. You float around happy all day because you can't remember to be sad, because you can't remember anything. _I don't want that for you_."

"I don't understand," Hitomi squeaked out.

Van sighed and raked his hands through his hair. He then bent to pick up the orb from where it had fallen when he'd grasped Hitomi's arms. He squeezed it between his hands and it disappeared.

"Hitomi. If you were to die, naturally or not, you would get to where I'd be." He waved his hand to brush away her happy sounding noise. "But you wouldn't remember me. After five minutes of being _there_, you wouldn't know who I was. You wouldn't remember your parents, your friends, even your stupid fucking dog! We would have no time together. It would be a waste of your life."

He sighed.

"Before... Earlier... I couldn't be with you because I knew it was forbidden. I knew that to consummate something like that would be the biggest mark on both of our records. It is _forbidden_. Angels and humans do not mate, that's just how it is, and how it'll always be."

"But... your wings are gone, Van."

His laugh was bitter. "D'you remember how I told you we could be rid of them for a time? That's all it is, Hitomi. I thought maybe I could pretend. I could be your human lover and this wouldn't be wrong. It would be okay for me to kiss you and touch you and make love to you. But it's not. _It's not_, Hitomi. He has made it very clear to me. I'm not supposed to be this close. I'm not supposed to have fallen in love with you." His eyes were pools of liquid that shimmered when he looked at her. He blinked and they broke, the liquid spilling down his cheeks.

Tears of angels are said to have healing properties. Hitomi very quickly learned that this was wrong, for as soon as Van started to cry, she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. She moved to him, wiping his face and watching as his tears turned to crystal in her hands.

"How long do we have?" she asked him, quietly.

"Till dawn, if we're lucky."

"Then... let's make the best of it, shall we?"

Van nodded silently, gazing at the woman in front of him. He reached out and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "I love you," he mouthed. She smiled sadly and closed the distance between them, desperately wanting to hold him. As soon as her lips touched his, the rain started to fall, hitting their eyelids and shoulders.

"I'm not going to pretend, Hitomi," he said. "I am going to love you tonight. And I am going to love you as both a man and as an angel." He smiled and took her hands in his as the dazzling white feathers burst from his back. Hitomi couldn't tell if it was water or feathers raining down upon her anymore.

And he crushed her to him, his mouth grasping at the fragile skin on her neck. She petted his hair as his lips bruised her skin. When he raised his head, his eyes were a dark colour. He swept her from her feet and she got another view of his dazzlingly fast movements as they arrived in her room within ten seconds.

He lay her down upon her bed and propped himself on one hand beside her. His hands flew through her wet hair, smoothing the tangles and making the smell of it fill the room. For what seemed like hours they stayed like this. Van touching her hair and Hitomi with her hand on his face. And then he leaned down to tentatively kiss her. Her reaction the his kiss was astounding. Within seconds he was flat on his back on the mattress with Hitomi's small body holding him there.

Her hands flew frantically from place to place on his body. Touching his face, his back, his thigh, his neck. He was saying something, over and over again, but she didn't know what it was. And then he was on top of her, almost ripping her clothes from her body. They felt as if they were one, rolling over one another, feathers flying every direction.

And then everything was still.

Hitomi looked up into Van's face. His breathing was heavy and he had never looked more beautiful than he did with his hair sticking in every direction and his eyes glowing from the urge to be close to her. His wings came around and enclosed them in a small room of feathers. All the sounds from the house around them were deadened and all Hitomi could hear was the rise and fall of their breathing.

She felt Van move and, like the last time, he hesitated. "Are you sure?" she whispered to him. "You don't have to do this, you know."

His smile was bittersweet. He leaned down and kissed her face momentarily. And then several things happened simultaneously: Van had stopped hesitating and had thrust himself into her, Hitomi's back had arched so hard that they almost fell off the bed, all of the windows in the room had flown open and the rain had begun to pour in, and the doors had all started to slam open and closed rapidly.

When Van pulled himself back momentarily, everything froze. They stared at each other, listening to the rain hitting the carpeted floor of Hitomi's room. She was sobbing without crying until the grin that appeared on Van's face blotted out the rest of the world.

"Oh God, I love you, Hitomi," he said, resting his head on her shoulder before thrusting back into her once again.

Hitomi found that, like she had the first time Van and her had kissed, that there is no way that any prior experience could prepare you for making love with an angel. She couldn't tell if it was the fact that he was what he was or the fact that she loved him like she did that was making her head spin like it was.

Later, if you had asked either of the two what had occurred during that night, neither would have been able to answer. There were no precise memories in either of their heads. They would only be able to remember the coming together of two souls, of two bodies, and of two lives.

Hitomi watched the sun as it came up over the horizon. It was still misting slightly and it cooled her hot skin where it lay against Van's. She had her hand tangled in his hair and was listening to the rise and fall of his chest as he slept. His wings lay innocently at his sides, covering their legs and the blanket they had wrapped around themselves.

Suddenly Van stirred. His eyes opened and slowly fastened themselves on Hitomi's face. "G'morning," he slurred, smiling. Hitomi's eyes were glistening as she smiled back down upon him. Her lips brushed across his forehead lovingly, before she returned to smoothing his hair and watching the sun.

Ven jerked himself up into a sitting position, looking around as if to listen. His eyes were wide and frightened looking as he turned himself back to look upon his lover's face.

"Hitomi," he whispered. "It's time."

(A/N: Lalalaaaa. I'm happy that people remember and are enjoying this story. It's pretty close to done already so you probably won't have to wait much longer to read the final chapters. Until then, just keep it up with the lovely Reviews.)


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